Manchester United legend labels Manchester City “the team to beat” this season

Manchester United icon Ryan Giggs believes neighbours Manchester City are the “team to beat” in the coming Premier League campaign, pointing to their “scary” abundance of attacking players and investment in full-backs, which even in pre-season (and without Benjamin Mendy!) appears to have fixed a long-term problem in the side.

In his ‘Class of ’92 diary’, Giggs mirrored what many Blues believe, that the fitness of club captain Vincent Kompany will be crucial to any success. Despite spending a fortune on full-backs, City have yet to sign a centre-back this summer, although remain in the market for one at a reasonable price. With a top-level central defender unlikely to join though, Kompany’s fitness could have a big say in how successful Pep Guardiola’s men are this season.

Giggs wrote: “I think Manchester City are the team to beat though. I looked at them towards the end of last season and the forward players they’ve got is scary, with Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Leroy Sane, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Raheem Sterling.

“What they needed to get right was their defence and it will be interesting to see how Ederson settles in, because you don’t win the Premier League with an average goalkeeper.

“They’ve obviously invested heavily on full-backs but the question is still whether Vincent Kompany can stay fit because his influence and experience are key for them.”